Dark Souls 2 covenants detailed

As reported by Siliconera, Dark Souls 2 players will be able to become what's called a Blue Sentinel, a group of players who watch each other's backs by automatically warping into one of their brethren's games when they're invaded.

There's also a covenant called The Way of the Blue, which seems to operate exactly the same way, where upon getting invaded by a black phantom (enemy player), help will be sent in the form of another Way of the Blue member. The differences between these are unclear, but you will be able to have both a Blue Sentinel and a Way of the Blue member both join you, so an unlucky invader may find themselves in a three-against-on battle.

Another way to help other players it to join the Heirs to the Sun Covenant, which seems to operate the same way only where you appear as a gold phantom. I'm sure there will be subtle differences between these, but those have yet to be revealed.

For more aggressive players, there's the Brotherhood of Blood, a covenant that's focused on invading other players, similar to Dark Souls' Darkwraith Covenant. The difference is that instead of collecting humanity, you spill blood to sacrifice to the god of war, Nahr Alma.

Another option for invading players is to become a Bell Keeper. These players are automatically summoned into another players game when they enter an area with a bell in it, and their goal is to defeat the other player who's heading towards the bell. So rather than stalking your prey, you can simply hang out around the bell and operate as a sort of mini-boss, similar to how Demon's Souls would abduct certain players to assume the role of the boss at the peak of the Tower of Latria.

Check out what these covenant members look like - along with some gorgeous scenery - in the new batch of Dark Souls 2 screenshots below.